EMPIRICAL STUDY OF FEDERALISM AND POLITICAL STABILITY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Federalism and Political stability are two concepts that are of significance to all modern societies. Federalism promotes pluralism and dispersal of power which is good for a multi-ethnic society like Nigeria. But in Nigeria, the practice has generated unending tensions among the individuals, communities and ethnic groups within it. However, this study argues that healthy federalism is a political panacea for ethnic violence, governance crisis and political instability in Nigeria. This study empirically examined the relationship between federalism and political stability in Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive and casual research design as well as the survey method. In the investigation, a total of 428 respondents were sampled using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation and linear regression analysis. Findings revealed that federalism has a positive and significant relationship with political stability in Nigeria at (R = .732, R2 = 614 at p = 0.000). The statistical result shows that there is a strong relationship between federalism and political stability in Nigeria and that federalism accounts for 61.4% of variations in political stability in Nigeria. Requisite conclusions and recommendations were provided in the light of empirical and theoretical findings.